January 02, 2019

January 01, 2019

One day late, but here we go. 2018 was an outstanding year for music and TV. Plus Lady Gaga made a movie and it was awesome. Here are my favorites of the year:

Album of the Year: Lots of competition this year. In the end, Future Me Hates Me by New Zealand's The Beths was my favorite. Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves, Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae, Nudes by Lucius, and By The Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile round out my top five. Honorable mention to the albums by Mitski, Robyn, Snail Mail, and Hop Along.

Cover of the Year: Lucius' acoustic album was fantastic and the highlight was their cover of Tame Impala's "Eventually."

Concert of the Year: I had a clear top three this year and it is hard to pick among them. But I will: Lorde's Melodrama tour at the Anthem was perfect. The opening acts (Mitski and Run the Jewels) were steller, Lorde's setlist did not have a bad song in it, and her choreo was just as weird as you would hope it would be. Runners up: Dan Auerbach at the 9:30 Club and Jen Cloher at Rock and Roll Hotel.

Music Video of the Year: John Mayer's "New Light" video is amazing. The best music video from a song I actually liked is Florence and the Machine's "Big God."

TV Show of the Year: Several excellent new shows and a few great limited series this year, all of them on HBO. My overall favorite was Barry. I've never been a big Bill Hader fan, but hot damn was this dark and hilarious. Noho Hank is clearly the best part of the show. The show that made me the biggest laughs of the year was Sally4Ever, which I haven't heard anyone else talk about, so I hope I'm not the only person watching. Julia Davis is outrageous and the stuff that comes out of her mouth as Emma...I just can't. Succession built well over the course of the season. It has the best ensemble cast. And if Amy Adams doesn't win an Emmy for Sharp Objects, I give up.

Film of the Year: Did I mention that Lady Gaga made a movie and it's amazing? The music...the acting...I was all in on A Star is Born. The soundtrack would have also been my favorite album of the year had they not put the dialogue bits on it. Runner up: The Favourite, even though it had a ridiculous ending.

Sports Moment of the Year: The Caps winning the Stanley Cup was awesome (my first time attending a SC Final), but witnessing The Goal by Wayne Rooney in person was probably the most memorable plays I've ever witnessed.

Pop Culture Tours: I did a lot of fun pop culture tourism this year. My top three, in order are: The Warner Bros studio tour in LA (aka I saw all of the locations from Gilmore Girls), Highclere Castle (aka the set of Downton Abbey), and Paisely Park (the home and studio of Prince).

December 31, 2018

I only went to 62 shows this year, which is low for me. And for the first time since I moved to DC, the venue I went to most often was not the 9:30 Club. The Anthem (still in the 9:30 Club family) won that honor: